ED WILLIAMSON reckons it is about time Newcastle Falcons proved themselves worthy of a seat at the Premiership top-half table.

After five winless league games the Falcons jetted off to Padova on Saturday, intent on kick-starting their season in the European Challenge Cup opener.

Whatever fluency they had hoped for never materialised though, the visitors lucky to steal away with the 29-27 win and the bonus point for scoring four tries.

Topping the ground ahead of Sunday’s Kingston Park Albi clash (kick-off 3pm), the Falcons can still gather momentum ahead of the October 24 league return at Bath.

But Williamson admitted a big attitude and sharpness adjustment must take place this week.

He said: “We’ve got to be more professional than that, we were saying it all week, to show Italy and show everyone else how seriously we take the competition, and why we should be at the top end of the Premiership rather than faffing around at the bottom.

“If we can get a bonus point victory through playing badly in some respects that’s a positive, but there was definitely a bit of complacency last week.

“Padova is a team we’ve played and beaten quite well before, so probably we thought it was going to be the same.

“The heavens opened, ruined our gameplan maybe, and we were laughing and joking in the rain beforehand thinking a bit of a slip and slide around would be fun.

“And perhaps the surroundings of Venice didn’t help either, with us thinking it was a bit of a holiday, but when we turned up to play it didn’t take them long to show how fired up they were, so credit to them.

“So it was very, very frustrating on the pitch as well, we were trying things that just weren’t clicking, balls were going down and mistakes were being made all across the park.

“It was a frustrating, horrible game to play in.”

Considering individual improvements just as vital as collective, Williamson is heaping the pressure on himself to hit and surpass the personal heights of last season.

Fighting fit again after summer shoulder surgery, he said: “I’ve had a few chances but haven’t found my groove as quickly as last season.

“I’ve been working with Alan Tait to try to improve my ball carrying, I need to be a bit more dynamic with the ball in hand and that goes for a lot of us.

“Just sticking the ball under one arm and just charging forward isn’t going to get through these defences nowadays.

“We’ve got to hold the ball in two hands more, try to interest defenders and put other runners through gaps, that’s probably the way forward.

“And my tackle count isn’t quite where I want it to be either, which is disappointing, but having said that you can’t tackle people if they don’t come near you.

“So there’s things for me to plug away at, I always put my effort in but I wouldn’t say I’m rusty I’m just trying to find my groove in this new team a little bit.

“In this new team we need to find our feet individually as well as collectively.”